Page 39 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Well, sure. Can we maybe start with the background stuff? You know, the things people usually find outbeforehaving hot, sweaty sex.”

He actually blushed a little at that, which helped me feel a tiny bit better about the whole conversation. I could keep him off kilter, too, it seemed.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “What do you want to know?”

I shrugged. “What was your childhood like?”

He glanced down at his plate and ate an entire piece of bacon before answering. “Well, I guess my childhood was pretty normal. Things didn’t get weird until I was older. My family pretty much disowned me and kicked me out when I was eighteen.”

That should have been one of the craziest things I’d ever heard, but my own life was similar. When Sam and I got pregnant with Mariah, my parents demanded I have an abortion or put her up for adoption. They’d absolutely refused to even entertain the thought that I would marry him. When I did, and I kept the baby, they’d cut me off. I hadn’t seen or spoken to either of them since I was pregnant with Mariah. I couldn’t imagineanything my girls could do that would make me want to cut them out of my life. To send them into the world without someone to lean on or confide in sounded heartless and brutal. Itwasheartless and brutal. It was even worse when it was done by someone you loved and trusted. Tate and I had more in common than I thought.

“What made them do that?”

Tate shrugged and stirred his eggs around his plate. “I… I didn’t want to follow the path they’d laid out for me. I’d met a girl that they thought I should marry. I didn’t love her, though. I was just with her because everyone wanted me to be with her. When I broke up with her, my family tried to force me to get back with her. When that didn’t work…” Tate made a slicing gesture with his fork, “…cut off. Never to return.”

“I’m so sorry.” I proceeded to tell him my story. His eyes widened with surprise when he realized we had very similar experiences.

We talked for hours, long after our food was done. We talked as we did the dishes, as I brewed coffee, while we sat on the couch. It was companionable, easy, and enjoyable. It had been a long time since I’d been able to converse this easily with a man. Luis had talked, but the conversations had always been very one-sided and narcissistic. This was a give and take, and it was fun. I hadn’t had this sort of connection with someone since Sam.

After a while, Tate sighed. “You know, I’d decided a long time ago that I would never have kids. I’d never even considered it. Still, as soon as I realized you were pregnant with my kid, I couldn’t walk away. There was no way I could abandon my child the way my family abandoned me. So, how do you want to do this?”

It wasn’t an easy question, especially since I didn’t really know how this was going to work.

“I’m in the same boat. I never dreamed I’d be pregnant again, much less with a—no offense—complete stranger’s baby.”

Tate nodded in agreement. “No offense taken. How about this? We take the next few months to, sort of, hang out. See if we’re compatible? I don’t really like the idea of my kid growing up in separate homes, getting shuffled around on weekends and holidays, but if things between us aren’t what we want, that could work. I’d really like things to work out, though, or at least try to see if they could work out.”

His proposal hit me hard and fast, and I leaned back, stunned and shocked. Tate had basically just said he wanted to spend the next few months seeing if we could be an item. Like, a live-together, raise-a-kid-together, have-a-home-together couple. There was nothing wrong with that idea. He was gorgeous, kind, smart, and really seemed to want what was best for my girls and me. The only problem was that if things didn’t work out, there was a chance my heart might get shattered into a thousand pieces.

“I guess we can see how things go,” I said after a moment’s hesitation.

Tate grinned. “Sounds great. I’ve got to go. There’s some work stuff I need to take care of. Call me if you need anything.”

“I don’t think I’ll need anything. I wouldn’t want to burden you or anything.”

He rolled his eyes. “Harley, you’ll have to get used to the idea that I’m going to be around more often if we want this to actually work.”

“Right.” I closed my eyes, embarrassed as hell. “Sorry, you’re right. It’s just a ton of stuff to get used to and deal with.”

“I get it. It is a lot. I’ll go at your pace, but I warn you, I’ve never been a patient man,” he said with a wink.

Tate stood to leave, then leaned down to kiss me goodbye. Warmth shot down my neck to my chest and stomach when hislips touched mine. I didn’t pull away, instead I opened my lips and flicked my tongue out, exploring his lips. The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent and passionate. For a second, I thought I heard Tate growl.

When he finally pulled away, his eyes seemed to burn with hunger. The warmth I felt as he kissed me changed. That look was like nothing I’d ever seen in anyone’s eyes before, and the warmth seeped down from my stomach to between my legs.

“I’ll see you later,” Tate whispered, then turned and left without looking back.

My body felt scorched once he was gone, seared by that look he’d given me. It sounded bad, but it wasn’t. It was pleasurable. Something I thought I might like to experience again. I blushed thinking about it and talked myself out of taking a cold shower.

When the girls got home later on, I was inundated by Jordyn’s stories about all her new teachers, the new friends she’d made, the way the school was laid out, even the options for sides they had at lunch. It was a lot, even for Jordyn. Her excitement was palpable. Mariah looked at me at one point and rolled her eyes, which told me she’d probably already heard all this on the bus.

Finally, Jordyn smiled mischievously and glanced at Mariah. “Mariah needs to tell you about the boy.”

Frowning, I glanced at Mariah, who was turning red. I looked back at Jordyn. “What boy?”

“There was a cute guy waiting out at the bus stop for her.”

Mariah sighed. “Stop making a big deal out of it, Jordyn. Kayden just wanted to give me back the binder I forgot in fourth period. He was just being nice.”

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